Cupid Gets A Driver's License

Be careful, he's definitely a distracted driver. I wonder what he wore to his driver's test.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.

Oh, look, there's a message to Iris Green of Wayland, New York on this one:

Dear Iris,

will now write you a few lines to day are all sick with the grip hope you are all well it is bitter cold here today anser soon  ____

Ethnic Humor Valentines

I think these cards by the Gibson Art Co. are all well-intentioned, though I'm not sure all the Dutch humor cards were.  In some cases the humor was fueled by anti-German sentiments (during World War I) and in other cases immigrants who had been in the country longer resented more recent immigrants and their customs and fashions (wooden shoes.)  When that was the case the humor seems to be aimed at revealing the primitive intelligence and customs of the Dutch or other ethnic group. These cards, on the other hand, seem to focus on the charm of the foreign culture, even though they make fun of the language differences.

Though it may look like it, the cards are not water damaged. The red and green colors that you see are actually part of the paper.

The cards are all blank on the back and look like this.

Valentines from the 1860s

Here are some very ornate homemade valentines. One has a date of 1869 on the back and another has a date of 1864. I assume the others are from around the same time.

The flap on the next one opens up to show a message that reads Devoted to Thee.

This one also has a little message inside.

And this one has a tiny little rhyme on the front. I'm trying to imagine what the shops that carried all of these decorative paper supplies must have looked like.

 

And finally, here's the one that says Valentine's Day 1864 on the back. The valentine may not look like much, but it's interesting to imagine that during the time this valentine was created, the Civil War was raging and Abraham Lincoln would soon be re-elected as President.

A couple of these valentines also seem to have a paper size stamped on the back. It does not correspond to the measurement in inches though. Is anyone familiar with these stamps?

He's Back...

I tried to keep him away, but Cupid is fairly persistent. He's here to teach me a lesson.

 

And, be careful, he's armed with bad rhymes. The one below only works if you pronounce 'worse' like the Three Stooges: 'woyse'. Either way, it's still a bad rhyme.

This rhyme's not so great either.

These cards were all posted, but only the last one has an interesting message:

The card is addressed to Miss Alice Owens, with a message that reads:

Dear Friend

Alice I have been very ill and wish I would have met you to have you nurse me hoping I have that pleasure very soon wish i knew you as well as I do that brother of yours but I think you are cuter

From

Billy the kid

with love

Get Back, Ya Little Varmint!

If you really want to keep him away though, you will have to do more than just yell. You need to spray him down, and not just with water either. You may need some strong repellants to keep this kind of trouble away.

And if you fail, all sorts of bad things could happen. Ouch!

Don't want that! ...or this:

Watch out for Cupid; you never know what he's packing.

Valentine's Day

What a great message:

Dear Gussie;

How are you any way. I hope you are well. Have been looking for a letter for a long time, but cepose

you are to busy to write. We are all well except having a cold + that is nothing new this time of year. We had quite a snowstorm here last Sunday + all drifted up. There must of been about 5-6 in of snow. We have five more little pigs 17 in all they are growing fine. Girlie is getting quite a girth she is singing here to beat the band you just ought to hear her. Hoping to hear from you soon. With lots of love from us all. Martha.

Here are a few more valentines:

Streetcar Sunday - The Romance of the Streetcar

 

Streetcars have a certain aura of romance that buses can never match. For some people it's a sentimental longing for the old-fashioned, but there is something inherently romantic about streetcars too. In the old days, streetcars were often just as busy on weekends as during the week, transporting people to amusement parks and beaches. Some of the older cars were open double-deckers, offering fresh air and a great view of the passing scenery. You can bet that lots of people have met and fallen in love on streetcars everywhere. Most of these stories don't make the papers, but some do (and often involve the conductors!):

In September, 1870, the Chicago Times reported that a young lady on the West side had fallen in love with a streetcar conductor. Her parents did not approve and locked her in her room, where she could only weep and watch the streetcar from her window. It seems that her parents particularly objected to her interest in a conductor of a horse-drawn streetcar and they would have approved had it only been a  a steam-powered streetcar. The newspaper reported that "they will not sanction her union with a conductor of a vehicle propelled by quadrupedal power."

In November 1905, the New York Times reported that Lucilla Smith, an heiress to the Smith Paper Company, had fallen in love with a former streetcar conductor and married him, much to her family's dismay.  After graduating from Wellesley and returning home to Pittsfield, Massachusetts from a "finishing tour" of Europe, Miss Smith had met the streetcar conductor and immediately fallen in love. The newspaper reported that, "the girl was often seen taking long rides through the hills on Conductor Dickie's car." At least they waited until he was promoted to a clerk position to get married.

On October 9, 1949, in an article entitled "Romance Fades - Court Hears Complaints About Ding Dong Daddy", the Reading-Eagle reported that in San Francisco, the Romeo of the "D" car line married some 14 wives without divorcing the previous ones. On September 16 of the previous year, the "tubby little Romeo", a former streetcar conductor, married an Oakland chambermaid. After a year, the chambermaid took him to court, saying that the once "alltogether too amorous" man had become grumpy and irritable and was accepting too many drinks at the Oakland waffle shop. He blamed his behavior on his wife's visit to the dentist and her resulting poor health, saying, "I guess her gums are hurting." He was sent to San Quentin, not for grumpiness and irritability, but for polygamy.

Bad angels, at it again!

Once again, cute little cherubs committing dastardly deeds. I only have two of these cards, but perhaps there was a whole series.  In this one they're ironing the heart; in the previous one they had a vise or a drill. Perhaps other ones featured saws, hammers, and mallets. Bad cherubs, and yet they look so pleased with themselves.

Ouch, my heart!

Those little angels look so sweet, but then they turn around and do something like this.

If you enjoy valentines, you should take a look at Tracy's Toys. She has some of the most unusual valentines I've ever seen, including one with a Necco-wafer head and one with a bone-button face, reminiscent of a character from A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Two Hearts that Turnip as One

 

I'm afraid this card is not as effective as it could be. Never mind that it's lacking the romantic embellishments of cute little cherubs and lacy bows and hearts. What's more important is that the featured vegetable looks like a turnip, and with no red coloring to prove its identity as a beet, it could be just about any tuber. Two hearts that rutabaga as one. Yes, I think that's it!

Here's a card with the same message:

  

It's quite lovely and romantic, but I'm not sure how the pipe fits in.